Wow! This book was such a great read. The suspense and emotions I felt while reading it were so intense! I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to read an adventurous book!

Meteorologist Jo Peterson could never imagine herself sharing twelve hundred feet of living and working space with eight strangers and her best friend. She is only going because Ty, her bestie, really needs her on the mission. And maybe because it is in Antartica, for a year. The scientific mission is to simulate the isolation and inhospitable environment on Mars and to answer the question if a team of women could adapt and thrive.

Rupley had her hands full creating a cast of ten characters all interacting in a closed setting. To me, this is on par with playing three dimensional chess, blindfolded! Yet she pulls it off to give us a thrilling and suspenseful story of possible sabotage and murder. For Rupley’s second novel, she has left nothing on the table.

I received an advance review copy from Bella Books through NetGalley.  I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I liked this book’s affinity for proper scientific studies and documentation. Add in a thriller plot with a twist of romance and I was hooked. A fun read that I couldn’t put down. Thanks to the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for the advance read in exchange for an honest review.

Jo Peterson is going to Antarctica for a year with a group of 10 women and their survival skills will be put to the test while researching weather patterns. This book did not completely meet my expectations since I expected a story about how to survive the extreme weather, isolation and how the research was being done combined with what happens when 10 women need to live together for a year with no escape.
Instead the story turned more into political intrigue, still interesting and it was well written but not really what I was expecting.
Nevertheless it was an interesting plot in a beautiful setting and worth your time if you like a bit of intrigue. If you want to pick this one up for the romance, don't do it. There is a romantic plotline, but that's about it.

***Thank you Netgalley and Bella Books for the chance to read and review this book ***

This book is a very interesting read about 10 women who do a year long assignment in Antarctica. The book goes through the Prep before Antarctica and the assignment. All seems to going well between the women and the studies they are doing there. That is until there are problems due to the previous team sabotaging the only women assignment and then the blaming starts.
A very interesting look at what happens when there are breakdowns between teams.
I would recommend.

I am mixed on this. I loved the Antarctic setting and the premise, but many other things fell short. There is a large cast of characters and while the main ones do stand out, the rest end up as a background blob. Honestly, the MCs could have used some more development as well. One character came off as so wooden, I kept waiting for her to be revealed as an android.
The story would make a great limited TV series.
#NetGalley

I'm not sure how to review what I just read.
The title and the cover definitely got my attention. But what I assumed the story was going to be, wasn't exactly.
I assumed I would read about this tremendously talented team of women spending a year in a very uninhabitable, 1200 Sq ft habitat in Antarctica and all the hardships they would endure. Instead I got a foreign espionage drama mixed with lots and lots of arguing, interpersonal drama and a tiny bit of dealing with the weather.
I was greatly disappointed and a bit bored. Too much talking, talking about nothing. Too much arguing about nothing. And there is a little romance, but nothing but suggestive looks and a few hugs. The foreign espionage stuff was really confusing and I'm not sure who ended up being the badguys.
Where was all the months of training before the assignment. I would have enjoyed knowing what they were taught to survive in 40 below weather. And I expected more adventures outside of the habitat. There were a few but they were very short lived and any danger was resolved quickly. How about more info on how they were growing their food within the habitat.
Oh well, I suppose that's a different book.
I suggest a few political and/or espionage symbols be added to the cover so one knows what to expect.
I was given this ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was a refreshing read. A group of ten women go on a year-long Antarctica assignment where lots of interesting things happen.

I liked how the author described the setting; I feel like I went on a tour of the South Pole while reading this book. The story progressed smoothly so it was a very entertaining read.

I will keep an eye out for more books from this author, I liked this adventure.

The story involves ten women scientists who are to spend a year at a station in Antarctica working through various experiments on survival in extreme conditions. Our main point of view comes via Jo who is a meteorologist with commitment issues. She’s best friends with the expedition leader who persuades her that the experience is not to be missed.

From the day they arrive, there are issues and Ms Rupley cleverly uses the tension of ten strangers in a tense, slightly scary environment to ratchet up the angst. Are the ‘bad guys’ internal or external? There are certainly strains within the ten because they are very different people.

The plot is different from the usual formulaic lesfic and that is to be applauded. Having so many characters with ‘similar’ roles made the beginning slow as we had to get them all sorted out. But overall this is a good read and I was happy with the ending and the wrap up. No spoilers here and I can see why the decisions would have been taken as they were for the overall good of the mission and any future female led expeditions.

I’ll certainly be looking out for the next book by Ms Rupley.

Meteorologist Jo Peterson enjoys her life as a loner hopscotching her way around the world chasing extreme weather events. When her best friend and mission leader, Ty Blackwell, asks her to join a mission to Antarctica, she balks. Staying in one place isn’t her thing, but how can she turn down the one person who’s stood by her or a golden trip to winter over at the South Pole?

Ten women are on the expedition. The situation quickly spirals out of control as the team grapples with sabotage, internal conflicts, and a maze of misunderstandings. It doesn’t help when the mission doctor with a mysterious past pulls on feelings Jo has spent a lifetime avoiding. In this unforgiving landscape, these women must navigate not only the physical dangers—but all the complexities of their intertwined lives.

This book had a bit of a slow start, but I was intrigued by Jo's past, which kept me reading. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, and I felt like the bad guys could have been fleshed out better to enhance the story. Overall, if you enjoy suspense, this was enjoyable!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

Katherine Rupley has written a gripping thriller where 10 women set off on a year-long expedition in, you guessed it, Antarctica. I found the pacing spot-on with enough descriptive details that allowed me to visualize the scenery, drama, and events. The mystery surrounding the suspicious circumstances added a layer as did the mild "romance" between two characters. This is a perfect read for anyone looking for a suspenseful adventure story or something a little different than the usual sapphic romance tale.

Antarctica is the first novel I’ve read by Katherine Rupley, and I am very impressed. She had me on pins and needles, turning the pages as fast as I could during a good part of this book.

In this story, ten unique, intelligent women scientists will spend thirteen months isolated in one of the most inhospitable places on earth…the South Pole in Antarctica. Ten women, placed in a building of about twelve hundred feet. This is about the same size as a small three bedroom suburban home, and this is where they must work and live for more than a year. This sounds like it could be a boring tale, but believe me, it is anything but that. Not only do these ladies have to overcome the harsh realities of where they are, there are influences that want the mission to fail.

We see the story through the eyes of Jo Peterson, the meteorologist of the group. She is a distinct individual, haunted by her past and on the mission mostly because her friend and leader of the mission, Ty Blackwell, asked her to join. Jo is a runner whenever things become too stressful in her life, but that’s not going to be possible in this situation.
The author did an amazing job creating the character of Jo. In fact, all of the ladies on the mission are individuals with quirks and histories that make living and working in such close quarters anything but calm. Add in the harsh climate, almost total isolation from the outside world, and possible sabotage and you have an exciting intrigue-filled thriller.

I only had one problem with the book. The author had a great attention-getting beginning, but after that, the story slowed down and didn’t pick back up until the characters got to their habitat at The South Pole. Once there, the action picked back up and I couldn’t put the book down. There is a lot of information that is needed for the overall plot, though.

I truly enjoyed this story of intrigue, mystery and survival. If you are into adventures in exciting and dangerous places, then definitely try this book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bella Books for giving me the chance to read and review this novel.

This is a story about 10 women who set out on an scientific expedition to Antarctica. From the start there was sabotage to the mission. Jo Peterson is the mc and she’s a meteorologist and best friends with the team leader Ty. The team doctor Christina and Jo have a mild romance.

For me there were a lot of characters to keep track of. And the bad guys weren’t developed enough and their plan to take out the women was never fully explained.

I wanted to like this book, I liked the adventure and the mystery but I needed more character development.

Thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity to read and enjoy the ARC.

4⭐️
After reading several great romances, Antarctica was a welcome change. I liked this adventure/thriller mix with a hint of romance.
An all-female group of ten highly qualified professionals with various specialties, form one of three groups who are to spend thirteen months in total isolation in Antarctica. Ty Blackwell is their leader and she had convinced her best friend, meteorologist Jo Petersen, to participate too. Jo is a lone fighter who prefers to run away from problems rather than confront them. She only reluctantly agrees, mainly because Ty asked for her help but also because it’s a great opportunity to do research in Antarctica. Will she be able to survive with no place to run?

After a few training camps, where they got to get to know each other better, the big adventure begins. Ten totally different, smart, and strong women, in a brutal, harsh environment with no possibility of leaving the place and temperatures that make you freeze just reading about it. Will the women grow together as a team or will they fall out and the mission will fail?

The story grabbed me from the beginning. It is told from Jo's point of view, which was a bit surprising, but I have to say it was a good fit. Things happen right from the start, such as destroyed sensors or no replacement elements, which do not appear strange on their own, but become suspicious as they accumulate. What is going on? Is it sabotage? Or are they just stupid coincidences?

What I liked best and found fascinating was the changing dynamics between the women. How different they react in challenging situations. Groups form, friendships develop and a possible romance takes shape. A tragedy, communication problems, and discovering dangerous exhibits lead to mistrust, suspicions, and arguments. The uncertainty as to what the incidents are all about makes things difficult for the women. The isolation also takes its toll, it becomes increasingly difficult to remain calm and focused, and the women reach their limits. But each of them is determined not to give up, and they want to know what is going on and who is behind all the threats.

The plot is well constructed and the tension is kept high with a few twists and turns. The interesting and strong-willed Alpha women, who have such different personalities, make the story an entertaining and exciting stay in Antarctica. It's very well written and I almost felt like I was one of them.

Thanks to Bella Books and NetGalley for receiving an ARC for an honest review.

After just having returned from cruising through parts of Antarctica I jumped into this story. Jo Peterson is a meteorologist and is invited to be part of an elite team of ten women for a year long scientific research mission in Antarctica. The idea behind the mission is preparation for future trips to Mars. So regular communications and supplies are to be extremely limited. Right from the beginning there are issues with some supplies that were ordered but not delivered.

After a death there is suspicion amongst the team and a bit of paranoia sets in. Is it a murder? Is someone trying to sabotage the mission and to what end? Their very lives may depend on if they can trust each other. Jo came on this bucket list mission to support her longtime friend Ty who is mission leader. Christine is the team's medical doctor. There are some potential romantic sparks between Jo and Christine but they need to keep the relationship professional. This is a good mystery that gets mostly resolved by the ending. The author is excellent at increasing the tension along the way but with several characters it takes a while to set up the story.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

who would say no to an expedition to the south pole.... not jo peterson when she is approached by her best mate ty blackwell.... the only drawback is that it is for a year, could jo manage a year with strangers in close proximity and in such harsh conditions..... but she agrees

from the very first day at the base camp things dont go well...two of the sensors that jo wanted installed into the ice arent working and her spares are not to be found....

communication becomes an issue with the outside world and could there really be someone in their group that doesnt want this experiment to work

as the days get closer to total blackout. when the planes can no longer come and get them can their group really survive in these harsh condtions when there could be someone close to them that has designs to end their mission before its even begun

interesting read though i didnt feel very close to any of the characters and i missed that closeness....

We’re frequently cautioned not to judge a book by its cover, but the cover of ‘Antarctica’ by Katherine Rupley caught my eye immediately. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from those southern lights! The blurb stood out, too. It’s not often we’re treated to an ensemble cast of strong-willed women who willingly isolate themselves so far from help in a land that can kill the unwary in minutes. We all know that Antarctica is cold, but at the same time, it is unfamiliar enough to be exotic. This was a feature I greatly appreciated.

Rupley’s characters are varied and unique. They each have their reasons for signing up for the mission. A few have secrets, and each is so different from one another in skillsets and personalities, that it’s just a matter of time until sparks fly. This potential powderkeg explodes when it becomes obvious that not all is as it should be. The blurb of this book mentions potential sabotage, and we’re constantly questioning who could be behind it. Their isolation limits the number of suspects while at the same time reducing their resources for assistance. Each of the women responds differently to stress, and it didn’t take long for me to distinguish between the characters. It’s a talented author indeed who can pull off juggling ten different personalities!

While Rupley was ramping up the interpersonal pressure, she didn’t let us forget that the snow and cold are also a grave and immediate danger. I could feel the cold after hiking across frozen drifts with two of the characters. (I won’t tell you why, I’d ruin the story.) You can sense the danger, smell the diesel fuel, and feel your stress levels rise in response. The group’s isolation adds a “locked room” element to this adventure tale, making it the perfect read for those who enjoy a well-written adventure/mystery.

All told, this tale kept me riveted and questioning right up until the very end.
If you’re looking for something different and unpredictable, this is the book you’ll want to read next!

Interesting details about Antarctica mixed with a mystery. Know that this is front loaded with info about Antarctica but once this group of ten women are on the continent, it shifts to a suspenseful story. Jo, who narrates, is an expert on extreme weather and she throws in with the experiment to see how a team would cope in isolation- in preparation for future trips to Mars- when she's asked along by her friend Ty. The other nine women each have their own expertise. No spoilers but know there's a death, that there have been threats to the project that begin to manifest, and that Jo's right not to trust everyone. This is more than a little implausible in spots (no spoilers) and there are leaps in time (suddenly they've been there 277 days) but it did keep me turning the pages. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. I'll read anything set in Antarctica- this was a good one.

Had I not been reading this book as a review copy, I would have DNFed it at 14%. As it was, it took until about 40% to really start feeling like anything was happening, and while it did pick up somewhat, it was not worth it.

The writing style feels very basic - this does make it quite quick to read, but it also made it feel like a first draft. There are multiple instances of poor editing that add to this feeling: grammar errors, odd sentence structures, and homonyms used incorrectly. It also jumped out when a character is mentioned as being vegan quite early on, with a fair bit of emphasis placed on it, and then she is later fed cheese by other characters, to no comment.

The characters also feel very superficial, and this doesn’t go away. Some are entirely forgettable, and others are reduced to having one characteristic. All I know about the German character is that she likes beer, a fact that is brought up an infuriating number of times. These women are supposed to be highly qualified professionals, and one of them spends this much of a mission in Antarctica making homebrew? The narrator also refers a few times to her confusion about the seasons in the southern hemisphere being different to what she’s used to, which makes her sound less like a qualified and experienced professional, and more like an American teenager on TikTok. The romance element, while not a large part of the story, was somewhat irritatingly handled.

The structure didn’t work particularly well for me, either. As mentioned earlier, I was about 40% of the way in before I felt any compulsion to keep reading. A quarter of this not particularly long book is spent on establishing the mission, with the use of flashbacks, which felt like a lot of wheel spinning before it actually began. Perhaps flashbacks to this establishment of the mission would have worked better, but the protracted introduction combined with flashbacks meant that I’d have long stopped reading were this not a review copy.

There were other, smaller irritants as well. There were a few details repeatedly mentioned that never felt like they were resolved, or that enough information was given for the audience to feel like there was resolution on them. There were also a lot of pop culture references, which really only served to remind me of things I could be reading that I’d be enjoying more. Yes, this is like The Martian, and I could be reading that right now and having a far better time.

It would perhaps be 1.5 stars in a more detailed reviewing system, but NetGalley has me beholden to whole stars, and the mystery being compelling enough that I didn’t put the book down is not enough. Which is a shame, really, as a queer story set in Antarctica sounded exactly like something I’d love, but it was not to be.

The blurb sums it up well! Sapphic suspense and mystery. Not a romance, but does have subtle romantic threads.
10 women from various backgrounds embark on a year long mission in Antarctica. Their goal
Is to prove a group of women can live and work together under extreme conditions. Ty and Jo are the best of friends and Ty has mentored Jo through really difficult times in her life. She invites Jo to go on the journey with her as the weather monitoring person. At first she balks at the idea of being stuck in one place for that length of time, but quickly agrees.
In addition to the below freezing climate, they deal with a death, sabotage, infighting and learning how to lean on each other and become a family in order to survive the extreme stress.
The story was quickly engaging and kept the mystery flowing throughout. Who can they trust? What outside groups are working against them?
I enjoyed this sapphic mystery and will read more from this author.
Thank you to Bella books and MetGalley for the arc.